Prospect Info: Cole Caufield Part 3

[Fixxer]

First off that was just insane to watch, not just Caufield but Wisconsin was losing that game 3-2 and then scored 6 ****ing goals in just over 10 minutes, think about how many hockey games you might have to watch to see that happen in a game. Now Merrimack is not a very good team and the poor goalies were getting smoked as they gave up 11 goals on just 26 shots. There goes your save %, damn.

Would never have expected Caufield to get 5 pts in his first 2 games, no Wisconsin player has ever had back to back 2 goal games to start their NCAA career from what I read somewhere. That is crazy that he could score 4 goals with 2 of the against what is expected to be one of the top goalies in the NCAA this year. Granted Merrimack might not even be a top 50 team in the NCAA (out of 60).

Next weekend is a big time test, the biggest he likely will face all year in the NCAA as the home opener is vs UMD, a team that is trying to become the 1st team to ever win back to back to back NCAA National Championships (coached by former Hab Scott Sandelin, a 2nd round pick by us in '82) They have a very good defense or did last year and the goaltending. So should be a very good match up.

Caufield is the first prospect I remember being really excited and having to keep my expectations in check.
He scored goals at every level so far. like close to one goal per game. If he has the talent (anticipation, elusiveness) to make it work in the NHL, he'll be a treat. He's a Boom or Bust prospect.

 

[Habssince89]

He'll join us in April.

We'll see. I'm trying to forget about caufield to make his addition to the habs the most satisfying it can be haha.

 

[Overworm]

Does anybody know where to watch the Badgers game on live streaming for free?

 

[BaseballCoach]

going to be a great goal-scorer BUT habs need to find some big wingers who are going to be able to dish.

Poehling - there you go!

 

[Scintillating10]

Do you think its a coincidence that that line has been repeated so many times ?
Svech is playing 17 minutes a night
Tkachuk is playing 19 a night
Hughes (Q) is playing 20 a night
Dahlin is playing 20 a night
Dobson is playing 16 a night
Fehervary is playing 14;30 a night
Heinola is playing 19 a night
Hughes (J) is playing 15:30 a night
Kakko is playing 15:30 a night
Heiskanen is playing 25 minutes a night
Makar is playing 20 a night
Hischier is playing 19 a night
Pettersson is playing 18:30 a night
Jokihraju is playing 17:30 a night
Ferraro is playing 16:30 a night
Texier is playing 16 minutes a night
Cody Glass is playing 15 minutes a night

And to be honest, Jack and Kakko are the only two who are even close to struggling. What the hell man? Do you truly believe that the third overall pick in the 2018 draft is less deserving than these guys ? Do the Habs have a team that is too good for him to get ice-time? Heck, Glass is playing ahead of a forty goal scorer.

Habs were desperate for offensive center at that draft.

 

[Pompeius Magnus]

Would never have expected Caufield to get 5 pts in his first 2 games, no Wisconsin player has ever had back to back 2 goal games to start their NCAA career from what I read somewhere. That is crazy that he could score 4 goals with 2 of the against what is expected to be one of the top goalies in the NCAA this year. Granted Merrimack might not even be a top 50 team in the NCAA (out of 60).

Really ? That's crazy ! Not even Paul Ranheim or Dany Heatley or Mark Johnson ? They've had quite a few very good players over the years. That's nuts.

 

[JoelWarlord]

Can't remember ever being this excited about a prospect in my lifetime. Kotkaniemi is still the better player/prospect but we haven't had a real first shot scorer like this in the prospect pool in decades. Closest we've had on the roster was probably Cammalleri since Pacioretty was always more of a volume shooter.

I'm just really excited to hopefully have a player on the Habs again where every time the puck's on his stick you're on the edge of your seat. Haven't had one since they traded Subban and haven't had a forward like that since Kovalev.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Can't remember ever being this excited about a prospect in my lifetime. Kotkaniemi is still the better player/prospect but we haven't had a real first shot scorer like this in the prospect pool in decades. Closest we've had on the roster was probably Cammalleri since Pacioretty was always more of a volume shooter.

I'm just really excited to hopefully have a player on the Habs again where every time the puck's on his stick you're on the edge of your seat. Haven't had one since they traded Subban and haven't had a forward like that since Kovalev.

I don't think he's going to be that kind of player. Think Brett Hull not Steve Yzerman. Caufield's M.O. is to get open and score. He's not really a Kovalev/Subban/Lafleur who's going to go up and lead the rush. He's a pure sniper who finds open ice and one times it into the net.

Btw, absolutely nothing wrong with that. Players who can do that and consistently put it in the net are a rare breed. Would love to pair him with KK. One will compliment the other.

 

[azcanuck]

Can't remember ever being this excited about a prospect in my lifetime. Kotkaniemi is still the better player/prospect but we haven't had a real first shot scorer like this in the prospect pool in decades. Closest we've had on the roster was probably Cammalleri since Pacioretty was always more of a volume shooter.

I'm just really excited to hopefully have a player on the Habs again where every time the puck's on his stick you're on the edge of your seat. Haven't had one since they traded Subban and haven't had a forward like that since Kovalev.

Lacks real speed. Doesnt really carry the puck.

But is super smart, has great instinct and the SHOT. He's got it. Perfect player for us. He's tiny like the rest of the good forwards.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I don't think he's going to be that kind of player. Think Brett Hull not Steve Yzerman. Caufield's M.O. is to get open and score. He's not really a Kovalev/Subban/Lafleur who's going to go up and lead the rush. He's a pure sniper who finds open ice and one times it into the net.

Btw, absolutely nothing wrong with that. Players who can do that and consistently put it in the net are a rare breed. Would love to pair him with KK. One will compliment the other.

To simplify his game to just his one timer is grossly understating his skillset. He wrist shot is lethal both off of the rush and from the circles, he also has elite hands and is a plus skater. He has the potential to be a 50 goal version of Marchand minus the dirty play.

Caufield's passing game is also severely underated due to stat worshippers drawing conclusions from his assist totals.

The kid is an elite finisher with a diverse goal scoring toolbox.

 

[montreal]

Just going to give a general warning that this thread will be about Caufield and only Caufield, if you want to talk or complain about other players, coaches, the weather, it won't be in this thread as fans should be able to just read about Caufield.

Does anybody know where to watch the Badgers game on live streaming for free?

this past weekend was likely the last chance to get a free stream and that was only due to Hockey East still working out the details with CBS sports.

Here's his schedule for streams for the rest of the season and links to pay for them. Any free streams going forward would likely be illegal and thus not allowed to be talked about on the board.

 

[NotProkofievian]

To simplify his game to just his one timer is grossly understating his skillset. He wrist shot is lethal both off of the rush and from the circles, he also has elite hands and is a plus skater. He has the potential to be a 50 goal version of Marchand minus the dirty play.

Caufield's passing game is also severely underated due to stat worshippers drawing conclusions from his assist totals.

The kid is an elite finisher with a diverse goal scoring toolbox.

I think stats nerds probably did pretty well with Caufield. You're not going to get much more of a strong case based purely on numbers than him.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I think stats nerds probably did pretty well with Caufield. You're not going to get much more of a strong case based purely on numbers than him.

Their claim that he is only a finisher is supported by stats yet it is completely false.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Their claim that he is only a finisher is supported by stats yet it is completely false.

That is correct. He was essentially forced into a pure F3 role playing with pucks hogs Zegras and Hughes (for a considerable portion of the time). I think it caused people to simply assume his totals were inflated, and yes, miss the total package. You can't show much other than getting into lanes when Hughes is dancing around the opposition 80% of the time.

But, so far as statistics go, Ima go ahead and suggest that you could do worse than go with the guy who finished ahead of Matthews by - what was it again - 18 goals in one season, and 33 or so over 2?

 

[JoelWarlord]

I don't think he's going to be that kind of player. Think Brett Hull not Steve Yzerman. Caufield's M.O. is to get open and score. He's not really a Kovalev/Subban/Lafleur who's going to go up and lead the rush. He's a pure sniper who finds open ice and one times it into the net.

Btw, absolutely nothing wrong with that. Players who can do that and consistently put it in the net are a rare breed. Would love to pair him with KK. One will compliment the other.

I don't really mean to argue because I know you're speaking in glowing terms comparing him to one of the best goal scorers to ever play but I think he's more than just a sniper. Just the way he scores his goals demonstrates excellent vision and offensive awareness and his hands are excellent even excluding the shot. I think it was just a unique situation on a line with Hughes where it didn't make sense for him to do much of the puck handling, but I think he's going to be a legitimate playmaking threat as well as he develops.

 

[montreal]

I'm still getting to know his game but one thing i noticed vs these 2 NCAA teams was how confident he was skating with the puck in the offensive and neutral zones as you would think being an 18 year old Freshman he might move it quickly but he took his time and knew what he wanted to do with the puck. Shows he's got a lot of confidence going and now that he's putting up the goals left and right that should only help his confidence. I can't wait to see him this weekend.

 

[Playmaker09]

I'm still getting to know his game but one thing i noticed vs these 2 NCAA teams was how confident he was skating with the puck in the offensive and neutral zones as you would think being an 18 year old Freshman he might move it quickly but he took his time and knew what he wanted to do with the puck. Shows he's got a lot of confidence going and now that he's putting up the goals left and right that should only help his confidence. I can't wait to see him this weekend.

Saw the same at the WJC showcase this summer.

Was expecting him to let Zegras or Turcotte carry the puck, but it was him coming back deep to retrieve the puck from his D and carrying it through the neutral zone.

I think most had the impression that playing with Jack Hughes made him look better than he was but it's his playmaking and puck smarts that instead seem to have fallen significantly under the radar as a result of Hughes always being THE guy on the USNDTP.

He's not just a budget Laine as was advertised.

 

[Mrb1p]

Gonna knee jerk here but maybe it was actually Cole that made Jack better.

 

[Overworm]

I'm still getting to know his game but one thing i noticed vs these 2 NCAA teams was how confident he was skating with the puck in the offensive and neutral zones as you would think being an 18 year old Freshman he might move it quickly but he took his time and knew what he wanted to do with the puck. Shows he's got a lot of confidence going and now that he's putting up the goals left and right that should only help his confidence. I can't wait to see him this weekend.

Yeah you can't deny that he's the type of player who wants to make a difference in a game and if the situation requires it, he can control the pace as he sees it fit. That's called leadership on the ice. Unlike a lot of critics who only think he can do nothing but get open and score, he knows when its time to erase his presence and when its time to lead the offence. You can't judge him like a book cover, he always bring something new to his game. To me, he was clearly a top 5 prospect at the draft (considering how many ELITE assets he holds). The teams that have passed on him may not see it now, but they will in the future, that's how scary and hunting the feeling he gives. That's montreal best forward prospect in the last 20 years.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Gonna knee jerk here but maybe it was actually Cole that made Jack better.

If that ends up being the narrative, got damn did we get a steal.

 

[DesmondDekker]

Hard not to get excited about this kid. Just look at what Olofsson has done for Buffalo’s power play unit. His one timers on the PP are so similar to what Cole does (against weaker competition of course) and shows you how impactful an elite shooter can be.

I know we won’t have Eichel or Dahlin to feed him cross-ice passes, but you get the point.

 

[Sagikev]

Hard not to get excited about this kid. Just look at what Olofsson has done for Buffalo’s power play unit. His one timers on the PP are so similar to what Cole does (against weaker competition of course) and shows you how impactful an elite shooter can be.

I know we won’t have Eichel or Dahlin to feed him cross-ice passes, but you get the point.

No, but we have guys like Domi, KK and Suzuki who can really dish it.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

No, but we have guys like Domi, KK and Suzuki who can really dish it.

Brook is great at finding seams as well

 

[Habs Halifax]

Alex Turcotte as his center isn't exactly chopped liver.

True but all good centers need a good winger and vice versa

 

[Habs Halifax]

Lacks real speed. Doesnt really carry the puck.

But is super smart, has great instinct and the SHOT. He's got it. Perfect player for us. He's tiny like the rest of the good forwards.

Agreed. I think he will be a PP guy!